Over the past few months, Raptr has pivoted in a new direction. The social gaming website had been known for tracking Achievements, Trophies and other data across multiple platforms. It’s what I used to let Twitter followers know what I was playing. But that aspect of the website is fading into the background as the next-gen consoles begin to emerge. The company looked at its most engaged users and found that they were on PC, according to co-founder Dennis Fong.

“That’s part of the reason we started focusing on the PC Gamer,” he said.

And that has led to a new direction for Raptr. The company has revamped its PC app and turned the service into something akin to Nvidia’s GeForce Experience but with more functionality. Fong and his team wanted to make playing and getting the most out of their PC titles as seamless as consoles. Part of the goal of the new Raptr will focus on optimizing PC games, so they look and play as well as the hardware allows. Fong said 90 percent of users play on default settings, which often fails to give players the biggest bang for the bucks they invest on their gaming rigs.Continue Reading →

I was always curious to see how Kratos would play in the upcoming Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny on the PlayStation Portable. At E3 this year, NamcoBandai teased us with the game but an unselectable Kratos. Now, here he is in all his digital glory.

That swinging move is an interesting touch along with that sword that pops out once in a while. But we all know that if this match-up took place in real life, Kratos would kill all. There would be blood and then more blood and then more blood and then Kilik’s severed head and probably a couple of limbs. Yeah, Kratos is a badass.

It may go overlooked, but folks can share their Madden highlights on the Web. But first you have to register to the EA Sports World. This was a cool feature that Electronic Arts Tiburon implented inNCAA 08 last year.

Once you set up your account and dress up your avatar. (I guess men like to play with dolls action figures as well.) You can upload the videos to the Web and share with friends. Just going to the Manage Highlights in the My Madden section. Find your saved highlights and you’ll see an option to upload.

It takes a while, but it’s well worth it when you need proof that you scored that 99-yard touchdown run against your buddy. And yes, that’s my San Diego Chargers beating up on the Broncos.

It’s a cool feature that kind of got buried beneath the whole Virtual Training thing. We also posted a review of the game earlier today. It can be found on the main review site at ContraCostaTimes.com. We have a feature coming up on the 20-year history of Madden on Thursday. Enjoy.

The PlayStation Network may have had the most immediate impact at the media briefing. Sony appears to be bolstering the offerings of its online service.

First off, starting this fall, players should now be able to carry their PSN identity with them in a single sign-on name. They can access their account via the Web and chat with friends via IM. It wasn’t clear what SCEA chief Jack Tretton was saying, but it sounded as if the PlayStation Network would have a better Web presence.

The second big piece of news was that Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction was getting an add-on pack this summer and it’s going to be a hefty one. In fact, I won’t call it an add-on; it’s more like an additional chapter or two for the game.

In Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty, players will get a brand new short adventure for $14.99. It takes place right after Tools of Destruction and it will explore the disappearance of Ratchet’s sidekick. Ratchet will have a new lasso wrench. The production values look pretty high on this game.

If King of Kong proved anything, itâ€™s that competitive gaming is as old as the industry itself. As long as gamers are out racking up high scores, thereâ€™s always a contest to top the the leaderboard. And when it comes to head-to-head matches, thereâ€™s eventually going to be a tournament to determine the best.

Over the years, the formula for competition has evolved. Top scores at the 7-eleven or beating opponents at the arcade no longer matter. Competitive gaming, or e-sports, has developed into something that resembles mainstream sports.

There are gamers on the Internet that play certain titles for a living. They practice for hours on end. They have playbooks and strategy. They compete for money, win, lose, get frustrated with teammates, argue, retire for a few months and later unretire to take up the mouse and keyboard again.

By far, itâ€™s best, most mature example — well other than Starcraft— is Counter-Strike. The popular mod has become the team sport for gamers.

In Game Boys, the New York Postâ€™s Michael Kane delves into this world and comes up with a fascinating history. Itâ€™s a book about legitimacy and validation of the game and the people who play it.

Kaneâ€™s story starts out with a simple LAN tournament and grows into a layered story of how video games and its players are constantly trying to justify its existence to a larger American audience.

For a while, everyone was talking about Wii Fit girl Lauren Bernat who was filmed, playing the game in her underwear. The video generated a boatload of publicity and was one of the most-watched YouTube video of the month.

It spawned dozens of copycats, including one by Playboy model Jo Garcia. Now, for fair play, folks have made a Wii Fit video for women. Eh, you should view at your own risk.

Eh, it’s a good list if you’re older than 30 and haven’t picked up a controller in five years. I wouldn’t put Tetris on the top though. I’d kind of re-mix this list and add some others. It’s funny how the most recent games on this list are Guitar Hero and Grand Theft Auto IV. I think GTAIV should have been replaced with San Andreas and moved up a couple of spaces to maybe No. 2.A recalibrated list on the jump